29 Oct Welcome to family, surf and love! A new blog for mums, dads and anyone who wants to read.

Hi everyone, welcome to my new blog about being a ‘wanna be’ surf mum, skater mum and snowbaording mum! So many people have asked me, “Why would you take on this extra workload when you are already so busy? Who is going to read it? What do you know about writing a blog?”

Well, the simple answer is that I hope my life stories inspire you (in some way), and that they will motivate you to keep reading! Let me tell you why I wanted to share my story and research with you. I want to Surf, Skate and Snowboard, and I want you to join me.

The story so far….

I grew up in a small country town, 5-7 hours away from the nearest beach. Most of my summers were spent swimming in the river or dams. It was always an adventure to climb into the family van and head to the beach. I remember the sense of calm that would come over us as we drove over the hill and saw the vast blue and aqua colours of the ocean. The van windows would go down, “Footloose” would be turned on to a high volume, and my family would all belt out that tune (and every song that followed) with excitement! Leaping out of the car and jumping into the salty water always felt so cleansing… until you got dumped by a wave and ended up with a mouth full of salt water. I’m sure the locals could see the farm kids coming a mile away!

Then there was the excitement of people watching, feeling nervous but hoping to check out those cool, very cute surfer boys. Each time we went on these beachside holidays, I vowed that I would learn to surf and that I would be a surfer girl. Skip forward 30 years and I am still trying, but I’m on my way! So why become a surfer girl now? I have actually tried several times.

My first real attempt to surf was when I was about 25. Unfortunately, I lived a couple of hours away from the surf, and my work would also get in the way of me chasing waves. Whenever I had the opportunity to paddle out on my board, it was like starting from the beginning again, from step one. I was back to the white wash and hitting the reset button each time. When I finally had one summer to build some confidence, I had a ‘little’ incident in which my board collided with my head, causing an injury that took some months to heal. The biggest damage done was that the confidence that I had built was completely knocked out of me, and so I eventually sold my board. I had decided that I was not going to be a surfer girl anymore, and so I took to sitting on the beach and occasionally swimming in the ocean when there were little to no waves. This was a difficult time because by then my husband had fallen in love with surfing, and I thought our surf adventures together were over.

Now…

Fast forward 10 years! My husband and I have moved to a very special, pristine and beautiful coastal town on the South Coast of NSW with our children. Last year, I was at a BBQ and one of the mums was telling us about her exciting day learning to surf. All of the mums there suddenly started discussing how much we all wanted to surf, relearn to surf and, in my case especially, face our fears. The next week we organised boards, wetsuits, surf coaches (aka husbands) and we hit the white wash. From that day on we have been hooked. Let the stories begin!

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15 Comments

Elisabeth

Yay, Pete!! I’m loving reading about your adventures! Keep up the great work! I don’t know when you have time for this, you crazy lady, building a house, saving lives, being a mother, wife, friend. Amazing. xxx

Jodi

Peta: Thank you for your blog. It is nice to hear about your adventures. I can totally relate to the draw of the ocean especially living in Canada. I recently went to Hawaii to go surfing, it has been 7 years since I was on a board. The frustration of re learning was tough and I almost gave up but on our last day we went out again and the rhythm of being in the ocean came back. There is something spiritual about the ocean and the taste of salt water , catching your first good wave or a person’s first duck dive……. Your blog will defiantly be appreciated from this Canadian, someday we will surf together in Australia 2 proud mamas and their kids. Jodi

Narelle

Way to go Peta, please continue to tell us the story of the journey. I am sure you have mastered the board by now knowing your determination & sporting abilities. I grew up on the beach but never mastered standing on a board. (Not without trying i might add). I did manage the surf ski tho.
I look forward to reading more.

Heather ( herjoyfilledheart )

Loved reading this Peta!! Looking forward to reading more as your journey and writings continue .. ( I broke my arm riding my brothers skateboard when I was 8 yrs old & have feared skating ever since!! But maybe one day I’ll join you on the hubs longboard because #grannieswannaskatetoo ?)